The boardroom at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai was usually a place for contracts, broadcasting rights, sponsorships, and decisions about the national team.
Today, the discussion was about something less straightforward.
At the head of the long table sat the BCCI President. Ravi Shastri, the national team's head coach, sat beside him.
At the center of the table, a large display showed a live video call.
Siddanth Deva appeared on the screen from his study at the Shamshabad farmhouse.
He was dressed simply in a dark polo shirt. The camera showed only the upper half of his body, with the farmhouse office visible behind him. He had chosen to attend the meeting remotely rather than travel to Mumbai.
The digital display beside the video feed showed the upcoming international calendar for August and September 2022.
A three-match ODI series in Zimbabwe.
Then the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The BCCI President looked toward the screen.
"Siddanth, we understand the physical toll of the England tour. We also understand that you want to spend some time with your family. But the Asia Cup is a major tournament. The broadcasters expect the full-strength squad. They expect you."
Deva listened without interrupting.
"I understand, sir."
He leaned slightly closer to the camera.
"But I've been playing almost continuously for years. The England tour took a lot out of me. Physically, mentally, everything."
He paused.
"I want to spend some time at home."
The President studied him.
"You're certain?"
Deva nodded.
"Yes."
He glanced briefly toward the window of his study.
"The twins are growing up quickly. I've spent most of their lives travelling for cricket. When I'm home, I'm usually recovering from the previous tour or preparing for the next one."
His voice remained calm.
"I'd like to have a few weeks where I don't have to think about cricket."
Shastri smiled faintly.
"Can't blame you for that."
The BCCI President looked at the tournament schedule again.
"But the Asia Cup isn't just another bilateral series."
"I know."
"You've never missed one."
"That's true."
Deva gave a small smile.
"And I've won five of them."
The room became quiet for a moment.
Deva leaned back.
"Five Asia Cups, sir. What's one more?"
Shastri laughed under his breath.
The President couldn't help smiling as well.
Deva continued.
"I've got nothing against the tournament. I'll watch the matches. I'll support the team. But I don't feel like I need another medal around my neck."
He paused.
"I've given a lot to Indian cricket over the last few years. Right now, I want to give some time to my family."
The President exchanged a glance with Shastri.
There was little left to argue.
"Very well," he said. "The board will approve your leave for the Zimbabwe tour and the Asia Cup. We'll cite workload management and family commitments."
"Thank you."
Shastri leaned toward the camera.
"Enjoy the break, Siddanth."
Deva smiled.
"I intend to."
"Don't disappear completely."
"I'll still watch the matches."
"Good. Because knowing you, you'll probably end up criticizing us from the sofa."
Deva gave a faint grin.
"Only if you deserve it."
Shastri laughed.
The call ended.
The large display went dark.
Thousands of kilometers away, the Shamshabad farmhouse was dealing with a very different problem.
The twins' trial period at an elite international preschool had ended.
The result had been close to what Deva had predicted.
They were both bored.
So the preschool experiment ended.
The Deva Academy began.
Siddanth and Krithika sat in the farmhouse living room with a professor from Osmania University.
The sixty-year-old professor adjusted his spectacles and looked again at the contract on the coffee table.
"So," he said carefully, "you want me to tutor your son."
"Yes, Professor," Krithika replied. "Three afternoons a week."
The professor looked slightly uncertain.
"I specialize in advanced calculus, structural physics, and mathematics for engineering students. Surely a child his age needs a foundation-level tutor."
Deva sat beside Krithika.
"He doesn't really need a foundation-level tutor."
The professor looked at him.
"What is his current reading level?"
Before Deva could answer, the door opened.
Rishi walked into the room carrying a hardcover book from Deva's library.
The title was about Advanced Calculus.
Over the next week, the twins received schedules designed around their interests.
Rishi spent part of his mornings working through mathematics and physics concepts with his tutors.
Aadhya began Spanish and Mandarin lessons. In the afternoons, Deva arranged gymnastics and agility sessions so she could channel her energy into structured activities.
The farmhouse became their school.
But Krithika was concerned about something the curriculum could not provide.
The twins could learn mathematics, languages, engineering, and sports.
That did not mean they would understand other people.
They needed to spend time outside their usual environment.
On a warm Tuesday morning in late August, the family's Range Rover left the Shamshabad estate.
Krithika sat in the passenger seat with a folder of reports.
Deva drove.
The twins sat in the back.
They were not going to a sports academy or a shopping center.
Forty minutes later, the SUV arrived at a large campus surrounded by trees.
A stone sign stood beside the entrance.
THE NEXUS FOUNDATION — SHAMSHABAD CAMPUS
The facility housed an orphanage and pediatric care center that Krithika had spent the last year developing.
Deva parked.
He turned toward his wife.
"This is your place, Krithi."
He reached across the console and held her hand.
"I'm just driving today."
Krithika smiled.
"Then let's go."
They got out and helped the twins from their seats.
The campus director walked toward them.
"Mrs. Deva. Mr. Deva. Welcome."
"How are things?" Krithika asked.
"Everything is running well. The children are outside for their morning break."
"Good. We want Rishi and Aadhya to spend the morning with them."
She paused.
"No cameras. No formal introduction. Just let them play."
"Of course."
She led them toward the recreation field.
Around forty children were spread across the grass.
Some played football. Others drew with chalk. A group of older children were playing tag.
Krithika crouched beside the twins.
"Go and introduce yourselves. Play with them. No fighting."
Aadhya immediately looked toward the group playing tag.
Then she ran.
Rishi stayed where he was.
He held a Rubik's cube and watched the children.
"Go on," Deva said. "You don't have to run. Just see what they're doing."
Rishi nodded and walked toward a smaller group sitting beneath a tree.
Deva stood back and watched.
Aadhya had joined the tag game.
A six-year-old boy chased her across the grass.
When he reached for her shoulder, she shifted direction, using a feint to send him the wrong way.
The boy lost his balance and fell onto the grass.
Aadhya stopped.
She turned around and went back.
She offered him her hand.
The boy looked at her, laughed, and took it.
Aadhya pulled him up and ran back into the game.
Deva smiled seeing that.
Then Deva looked toward Rishi.
A group of younger children had started playing hide-and-seek.
Rishi joined them.
He studied the field and eventually disappeared behind a stack of landscaping bricks.
From his position, he could see the other children without being seen himself.
Ten minutes passed.
The other children were found one by one.
The boy who was searching eventually stopped looking.
Then a young girl with a prosthetic leg walked toward the landscaping bricks.
She looked tired and sat down on the grass.
Rishi watched her.
He looked at the Rubik's cube in his hand.
Then he left his hiding place.
He walked over and sat beside her.
Without saying anything, he offered her the cube.
The girl took it.
Rishi pointed at the colored squares and began showing her how the pieces moved.
Deva watched from across the field.
The carefully constructed world around his children had disappeared for a moment.
They were simply children.
Krithika returned and slipped her arm around Deva's waist.
"It worked," she said quietly.
Deva looked toward the field.
"They're learning."
She rested her head against his shoulder.
"That's enough for me."
While the Deva family settled into their new routine, the cricket calendar continued.
August gave way to September.
Under KL Rahul's captaincy, India traveled to Harare for the three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe.
The series went smoothly.
Shubman Gill scored his maiden international century. The bowling attack controlled the matches, and India completed a 3-0 sweep.
The media quickly began discussing India's depth.
With Deva resting at home, the attention shifted toward the players who had been given greater responsibility in his absence.
Then the Asia Cup began.
India arrived in the United Arab Emirates for the tournament.
The group stage went well.
Against Pakistan, Hardik Pandya produced an all-round performance and hit the winning six in the final over.
India then defeated Hong Kong comfortably.
They entered the Super 4 stage unbeaten.
For the first few days, Deva's absence barely seemed relevant.
India were winning.
The squad looked settled.
The tournament appeared to be following the script many expected.
Then came the second meeting with Pakistan.
Sunday, September 4, 2022 — Dubai International Stadium.
India batted first.
Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul gave them a strong start, but the middle order struggled once the opening partnership ended.
Without Deva, there was no player with his particular ability to stabilize an innings and accelerate later.
India finished on 181.
It was competitive.
It was also within Pakistan's reach.
The Indian bowlers began well, but the game moved toward the final overs.
Mohammad Rizwan held the innings together while Mohammad Nawaz provided the acceleration Pakistan needed.
India's pressure handling began to slip.
Arshdeep Singh dropped a catch in the eighteenth over.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar conceded nineteen runs in the nineteenth.
Pakistan entered the final over needing a handful of runs.
They finished the chase with one ball remaining, winning by five wickets.
The result carried more weight than a normal tournament defeat.
Pakistan had not beaten India in fourteen years.
Now that run was over.
Two days later, India faced Sri Lanka.
The same weaknesses appeared again.
The middle order failed to build a strong finish, and the bowlers struggled at the death.
Sri Lanka chased 174 with one ball remaining.
India lost by six wickets.
Their position in the tournament was now beyond repair.
The final match against Afghanistan produced a 101-run victory, with Virat Kohli scoring a century.
It wasn't enough.
India were eliminated from the Asia Cup.
They would not play the final.
Indian television and social media reacted immediately.
News channels switched to special coverage.
The headlines appeared across television screens:
WHERE IS THE DEVIL?
THE SAFETY NET IS GONE: INDIA EXPOSED IN DUBAI
14-YEAR STREAK BROKEN: INDIA STRUGGLES WITHOUT DEVA
The same analysts who had praised India's depth after the Zimbabwe series were now questioning the middle order, the captaincy, and the death bowling.
Deva, meanwhile, was thousands of kilometers away from Dubai.
He was at home.
The T20 World Cup was only weeks away.